Job Description:
Position: Associate Director – Research, Insights & Strategy (RI&S)
Location: New Delhi
Reports to: Program Director, STEP Foundation
Team: Leads a team of Program Leads and Program Associates across the RI&S vertical
About STEP Foundation
STEP Foundation (Skilling, Training & Employability for Prosperity) is a systems-level think tank and implementation body working to ensure every young Indian is employable by 2047. STEP works at the intersection of policy, institutions, and evidence — partnering with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), NITI Aayog, NCVET, state governments and industry to build the evidence base, strengthen core institutions, and scale high-impact programmes across India's skilling ecosystem.
Job Description
We are seeking an experienced research and policy leader to head STEP's Research, Insights & Strategy (RI&S) vertical. RI&S is STEP's evidence engine — the team responsible for generating the data, analysis and institutional recommendations that anchor STEP's credibility with government and industry. This includes STEP's work reforming India's vocational assessment ecosystem with MSDE and other regulatory bodies, STEP's Job Data Insights work — building district-level labour market intelligence for MSDE.
As Associate Director – RI&S, you will own the strategy, quality and delivery of this vertical end-to-end: setting the research agenda, building institutional relationships with MSDE, NCVET and NITI Aayog, translating field evidence into policy-ready recommendations, and building a team with the quantitative and analytical depth STEP needs to be a credible evidence partner to government.
Key Responsibilities
- Own strategy and delivery for the RI&S vertical, including STEP's NCVET assessment-reform workstream (regulatory pilot design) and Job Data Insights workstream (Job Data Lab and District Demand Planning Framework for MSDE)
- Serve as STEP's primary research and technical interface with MSDE, NCVET and NITI Aayog — shaping reform recommendations and representing STEP in government and industry forums
- Design and uphold STEP's research methodology and analytical rigour — ensuring findings are evidence-based, decision-ready, and defensible to senior government and industry stakeholders
- Build and lead a high-performing RI&S team of Program Leads and Program Associates, strengthening the vertical's core research, data analytics and economics capability
- Translate field research and stakeholder consultations (district officials, industry, implementation partners) into structured, actionable policy and programme recommendations
- Own vertical-level budget, planning and reporting, and contribute to STEP's broader institutional strategy as a member of the senior leadership team
- Represent STEP externally — building STEP's credibility and profile as a research and evidence partner across the skilling ecosystem
Ideal Candidate Profile
- 14+ years of experience in research, labour economics, public policy, workforce development, or management consulting, including significant experience leading teams
- Strong quantitative and analytical foundation — comfortable with data analysis, econometrics or applied research methods, and able to build this capability in others
- Working knowledge of India's skilling and workforce-development ecosystem (MSDE, NCVET, NSQF, labour market data landscape) is a strong plus
- Demonstrated experience engaging senior government stakeholders and translating research into policy-relevant recommendations
- Proven ability to build and lead a team from the ground up
- Entrepreneurial, first-principles operator, comfortable with ambiguity and building institutions from zero to one
- Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to synthesise complex evidence for non-technical, senior audiences